European Software Sales Grow by 74% in 3Q 1993; Revenues Growth Mirrors
Moderation In US Markets.

December 7, 1993 ( Washington, DC) The Software Publishers Association
(SPA) today announced that European sales of personal computer
applications software surged ahead by 74% in the third quarter, while
aggressive pricing kept revenue growth to just 9% in the same period.

Research data on sales of personal computer applications in the third
quarter of 1993 shows that software sales reached $413 million in the
third quarter, a 9% revenue increase from the third quarter of 1992. For
the first three quarters, sales were $1.30 billion, a 13% revenue increase
from the first three quarters of 1992. Unit sales growth in Europe was
very strong for the period, up 74 % for the quarter and up 73% for the
year.

"The story in the European application software market in 1993 has been the
Rapid decline in average selling prices." said Gerard Gabella, managing
director of SPA Europe. "While unit growth rates for Europe have been in
the 70% range, a large decline in the average price has limited the
revenue growth to less than 10%. The average price fell 37% between the
third quarter of 1992 and 1993, declining from $211 to $132. A price
decline of about 30 percent has been experienced year-to-year across all
of the major operating systems, including DOS and Macintosh."

Forty-one primarily US-based software firms participated in the SPA's data
program by submitting confidential data to the accounting firm of Arthur
Andersen, which prepared the report for the SPA. Among the participants
are: Aldus, Borland, Claris, Lotus, Microsoft, Software Publishing,
Symantec, and WordPerfect. The data was collected in 22 software
categories (including word processors, spreadsheets, presentation
graphics, and others) and in six software formats (including DOS,
Macintosh, and Windows).

Windows application remained the largest platform by far in the third
quarter, accounting for $303 million (73%) of the total $413 million.
Sales of Windows applications were up 38% for the third quarter of 1992.
DOS application sales continued their slide, falling 42% for the quarter
to $70 million. Macintosh application sales rose 5% to $37 million.

The results by country/region varied widely, as usual. Among the three
largest markets, only Germany/Austria recorded double digit growth,
increasing 29% to $149 million for the quarter. Sales for the quarter in
the United Kingdon/Ireland region were up 8% to $101 million, while sales
in France were down 11% to $56 million. Sales in Italy continue to show
the effects of the Italian government's crack-down on piracy - sales grew
130% for the quarter, more than four times faster than any other market in
Europe.

The Software Publishers Association is the principal trade association of
the PC software industry. Its 1,000 members represent the leading
publishers in the business, consumer, and education markets. Since 1988,
the SPA's ongoing surveys of the PC computing software markets have
provided the most reliable and authoritative sales, management and trends
data in the industry. The SPA has offices in Washington, DC, and Paris,
France.

Software Publishers Association
1730 M St, Northwest, Suite 700, Washington, D.C. 20036
202-452-1600,  Fax: 202-223-8756

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